Harrisburg Senators win over Portland, move back into 2nd for playoffs

Tom Milone won his 11th game of the season, powered by home runs off the bats of Chris Marrero and Tim Pahuta and a pair of doubles by Jesus Valdez.

The Senators moved back in front of the Bowie Baysox by a half-game for second place in the West Division. The Baysox split a doubleheader with Akron. The teams are fighting for the final playoff spot in the division, with less than two weeks left in the season. Milone struck out seven and allowed four hits, one walk and three runs in 6 1/3 innings.

TURNING POINT Milone’s streak of dominance after allowing a double to Nate Spears in the first. Milone threw a wild pitch that moved Spears to third. Spears scored on Ray Chang’s groundout, but Chang was the first of 11 straight hitters Milone set down. Even when Milone finally gave up another hit (Luis Exposito’s double) and a run in the fifth, it was on a blooper to left field. By that time, Milone had retired Ryan Lavarnway and Juan Carlos Linares without allowing Exposito to come home.

NOTES & NUMBERS Tim Pahuta hit his 10th home run of the season in the fourth. He became the third Senator to reach double figures in homers this year. Chris Marrero and Marvin Lowrance are the others. ... Marrero hit his 17th in the fifth, a line drive that stayed up just long enough to clear the left field wall. The blast gave him homers in consecutive games for the first time since June 22-23. He went deep in four straight May 21-24. ... That home run was the 13th Kyle Weiland has allowed this year. He is one of five Sea Dogs to have allowed 10 or more. Only one Senator pitcher has given up 10 or more home runs this year. ... Milone retired 11 straight hitters until Luis Exposito led off the fifth with a double. ... Jesus Valdez’s third-inning double increased his hitting streak to seven games. ... Edgardo Baez hit his first triple of the season in the seventh inning, a blast that hit about two feet from the top of the wall in the deepest part of Metro Bank Park. ... Lowrance went 0-4 as the designated hitter in his first game back after eight days on the disabled list. ... Josh Johnson took a Weiland fastball in the back in the first inning. Johnson stared out at Weiland for a moment, but no words were exchanged. Johnson ran over Portland catcher Lavarnway Aug. 1, Johnson said, in retaliation for some high-and-tight pitches in that series. Both players, and both managers, said they think any bad blood is now in the past.

IN THEIR WORDS “I was trying a little too hard. Even on that 3-1 pitch. I usually take those. You want to come back in a big way. I just have to slow it down and not try to do so much.” — Lowrance, on two vicious swings he took at 2-0 and 3-1 pitches in the sixth inning. He flied out to center on the latter swing.

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